FOOTBALL 2013 PREVIEW

A quick scan of last year’s defensive leaders reveals all that UCF has to overcome in 2013.

Gone is the leading tackler and Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year, Kemal Ishmael.

Gone is the sack leader, Troy Davis. Gone is the top cornerback, A.J. Bouye.

While the Knights’ offense looks to be one of the best the program has fielded in recent years, the defense is a glaring question mark. When UCF’s defense steps onto the field against Akron on Aug. 29, it will do so with Just four players who have more than seven career starts.

Despite the inexperience that will line up on opening day, recent history suggests UCF and its defense-minded head coach should be able to overcome – or at least disguise – those weaknesses.

Not since 2006 has UCF ranked outside of the top 50 in total defense, and the Knights have not given up more than 23 points per game in a season since 2008. Twice in the last three seasons, UCF has ranked top-10 in the country in scoring defense.

“We’re always going to play good defense,” UCF coach George O’Leary said at the team’s media day. “I’m not going to let us not play good defense. ... I think they got to keep you in every game, defensively. Offensively, they might have a bad day, but the defense can’t have one. They got to be able to line up [and] be very stingy.”

Since 2007, UCF has largely been able to squeeze the best out of its roster. The Knights have been relatively consistent, allowing an average of 21.8 points per game over the past six seasons.

Around that trio, though, the Knights have plenty to rebuild. Seven of the team’s top 10 tacklers from 2012 are no longer on the roster. Sixty percent of the Knights’ sack production has also moved on.

While just four players have substantial starting experience, O’Leary pointed out that many more have seen playing time. Redshirt freshman cornerback Jacoby Glenn is the only presumed starter with no college football experience. Every other starter has appeared in at least 10 games. (Defensive tackle Demetris Anderson played at Western Michigan in 2011.)

Asked if the losses on defense would force UCF to use freshmen, O’Leary said it would be difficult because, “I think there are players that were around for two years now and it’s their turn and they understand what’s going on.”

Plummer, one of the leaders of the unit, said the players who served as understudies in past years have shown this preseason they are ready to step into the featured roles.

“We’re not the guys that are overly athletic, five-stars out of high school,” Plummer said. “But [we’re] the type of guys that are blue collar and work hard and run to the football. That’s what a UCF defense is to me.”

The makeup is similar to 2011, when UCF returned just four starters from the previous season. The Knights still managed to rank in the top 10 in the country in both total defense (9th) and scoring defense (9th).

That type of success set a standard, players said, even when the bulk of the depth chart is relatively unproven.

“Every year, we never really waver from what we do,” Plummer said. “We’re always an above average or a great defense. That’s the same thing we’re reaching for.”